The price of Brent from the North Sea rebounded 38.7% and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 33.3% in the first quarter of 2022, a boost generated by complications in the supply of crude oil in the face of tensions between Russia and the world.
The price of the North Sea Brent reference was located this Thursday at 107.91 dollars per barrel, although with a drop of 4.88% on the day, the reference has an increase of 38.74% so far this year, compared to 77.78 dollars per barrel in which 2021 ended.
For its part, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) accumulated a gain of 33.33% in the year, going from 75.21 dollars at the beginning of 2022 to 100.28 dollars per barrel at which it is listed this Thursday, considering a loss in the session of 6.99 percent.
Finally, the Mexican export mix began the year at 71.29 dollars and is now sold at 98 dollars per barrel, an increase of 37.47% in the first quarter of this year, according to Pemex data.
In the first 90 days of the year, WTI hit an intraday high of $130.5, not seen since July 22, 2008, and a low of $74.27 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent rose 38.74% in the quarter to $107.91 a barrel and hit a high of $139.13, a level not seen since July 16, 2008.
Faced with rising oil prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, agreed on Thursday to another modest increase in crude output in May, resisting pressure to pump more, and took distance from data from the International Energy Agency, in another sign of an increasingly hostile confrontation with the West.
The group has resisted repeated calls by the United States and the IEA to pump more crude to cool prices, which rose on concerns about Russian supply disruptions, after Washington and Brussels imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
OPEC+, which consists of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia, will increase output by 432,000 barrels a day in May.
In addition, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a plan to release one million barrels of oil a day from the strategic reserve over the next six months, the White House said in a statement.
“Desperate times clearly call for desperate measures, and it is clear that the US administration of Joe Biden believes that rising oil prices justify this move to consume the country’s emergency supplies,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst. of Hargreaves Lansdown.
fuels
The price of natural gas in London ended the period January to March 2022 with a rebound of 68.78%, although its price fell 26.91% in March, closing at 2.88 pounds sterling per million British thermal units.
The price of gasoline, one of the great concerns of the president of the United States, ended with an increase of 35.03% so far this year, with a slight correction of 4.17% in the month of March, the current price is $3.1426 per gallon. (With information from Agencies)
